问
wèn
Asking is holding out a blank and waiting for it to be filled
The picture A slip with a blank on it is held out in front of someone, waiting to be filled in. 问 holds the blank out; 答 fills it in and hands it back.
Where the picture shows up in 问
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knocking first
请问，洗手间在哪儿？
qǐngwèn, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr
Excuse me, where's the restroom?
Stepping up to a stranger with a hand half-raised before the first word
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carrying the blank somewhere
我去问一下经理。
wǒ qù wèn yíxià jīnglǐ
Let me go ask the manager.
Leaving the customer, note with the blank in hand, opening the office door
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holding it out instead of guessing
不懂就问，别猜。
bù dǒng jiù wèn, bié cāi
Ask if you don't know — don't guess.
A hand stops short of a button it was about to guess at and the head turns toward a senior
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until every space is filled
你先问清楚价格。
nǐ xiān wèn qīngchu jiàgé
Pin the price down first.
Numbers going into the blanks on a contract one by one until the last one is full
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entrusting a blank to someone
替我问你妈妈好。
tì wǒ wèn nǐ māma hǎo
Say hello to your mother for me.
At parting, a greeting is set into someone's hands to be carried home
All of it in one picture
问 is one picture: a blank held out to someone. Holding it out to a stranger means knocking first with "excuse me"; carrying that blank to the manager becomes going to check. Telling someone not to fill their own blank with guesses is "if you don't know, ask"; holding it out until every space is filled is pinning the price down. Hand a blank for someone's well-being to a third person and it becomes sending your regards.